David walked toward her, until he was standing at the end of the short bar. “Secret… Service?”
“Yeah,” Sherry said. “Who was he, anyway? How did they know he was here?”
“His dad’s a senator – haven’t you heard of him?” David said.
“We’re not like you, David,” Andy said. “We don’t watch the news unless they’re gonna show a train wreck, or somethin’, and we wouldn’t know a senator from a monkey on a rock. You’re a college boy, man,” Andy said good-naturedly, and not without a little envy. “You pay attention to that stuff.” He took a long drag on his cigarette. “We depend on you to tell us about it.” Andy chuckled smokily.
“Oh. Well, if you say so,” David said, but there was a flatness to his voice, and his eyes fixed on the end of the bar in a sad stare. “His dad’s Senator Wilson Garvis. From… uh… damn, I forget which state now, isn’t that funny? I’ve known Arnie all these years… and I can’t… remember… what state he’s from.”
David clutched the end of the bar hard, as if he would fall if he didn’t.
“You okay, David?” Andy said, moving toward him. “Maybe you should sit down.”
“Sit here,” Sherry said, bringing the stool around to him.
David perched himself on the stool and leaned his elbows on the bar.
“You know the type,” David said. “He’s big on morals and family values and prayer in schools. He and Arnie never got along. He wanted Arnie to follow in his footsteps and go into politics. Arnie wanted to be a biologist. It infuriated his father. The man was constantly interfering in his life, even having him followed, and attaching homing devices to him, or using his cell phone signal to keep track of where he was at all times. That’s probably how they found him. They probably weren’t far away. They might’ve even had something on him that picked up blood pressure – you know, vital signs. They… they probably knew he was dead.”
“Are you serious?” Sherry said.
“Dead serious. The man was almost obsessive about keeping tabs on Arnie. He wanted to know what he was doing at all times. Now they’re probably going to arrange a more… wholesome death.”
“Whatta ya mean?” Andy said.
“They won’t want anyone to know that he duh-duh… “ David stopped and put his face in his hands. “That he died of a drug overdose. Couldn’t have that. They’ll come up with another kind of death for him. Something cleaner. More acceptable.” He lowered his hands and sat up straight, took in a deep breath and let it out in a long, sigh heavy with sadness. “Arnie had too many secrets,” he said. His eyes glistened and his cheeks were wet. “Drug use. The fact that he was gay.” He turned sad eyes to Sherry. “We were lovers. For a long time.”
Sherry took in a breath. “Oh, David, I’m so sorry.”
His head jerked up and down. “I know, you didn’t mean anything, and you couldn’t have known. But now… yeah, they’ll have a fake death. A car wreck, or a boating accident, or something. Anything but an overdose. And I won’t be able to go to his funeral. For me, he’s just… he’s… gone.”
“Those bastards,” Sherry said quietly. She went to David and took his right hand in both of hers. “What else are those people hiding?”
“Oh, lots of things. His mom is hooked on pills and his dad drinks and sees hookers. But they go to church every Sunday, so I guess it all… evens out.”
Nobody said anything for a long time. Sherry turned to the refrigerator and got a beer. She popped the can open and tipped it back, took a few big gulps. Then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She found herself facing Philpott, who had been standing the whole time in the entrance to the hallway. “You’ve been awful quiet, Philpott. Wanna beer?”
He shrugged. “Sure. I feel bad for David. And those guys… they’re a little scary.”
She got another beer from the fridge and handed it to him. “What do you mean?”
Philpott shrugged again as he opened the beer. “Who’s to say they won’t want to shut up the only people who know that Arnie Garvis really died of a drug overdose?”
A splash of cold filled Sherry’s chest, then slowly passed through her entire body, until she shivered in the heat. She turned to Andy and David.
“Did you hear that?” she said. “He’s right – who’s to say they won’t?” To David, she said, “What do you think? Will they come back? Or will they send someone else?”
Andy said, “Oh, c’mon, you’re bein’ paranoid now.”
“Oh, really?” Sherry said. She felt genuine fear in the pit of her stomach, and she turned to David again. “You’re not sayin’ anything, David.”
“Well… “ His mouth opened and closed a couple times, but nothing came out. “You… you probably don’t have anything to worry about,” he said without looking at her.
“Probably?” she said, her voice low and tremulous. “Whatta you mean, probably?”
“I-I-I don’t know,” David said as he dropped off the stool and began to pace the living room.
“So… there’s a chance,” Sherry said. “You’re sayin’ there’s a chance.”
“I-I just don’t, I don’t know, Sherry,” he said as he threw up his arms and let them slap at his sides. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
She went to Andy and clutched his forearm. “You hear that?”
“Don’t get yourself worked up,” Andy said. “Nobody’s comin’ to shut nobody up. And if they do, I gotta couple guns a my own that I’m not afraid a usin’, and I can use ‘em pretty damned good, too.” He wrapped his arms around her and smiled as he kissed her. “Don’t worry, hon, nobody’s comin’ to get ya.”
“Yeah, that’s what you think,” she said against his shoulder. “You didn’t see these guys. They gave me the creeps.”
“Don’t worry,” Andy said. “I’ll protect you from the bad guys.” Then he laughed.
Ten
By lunchtime, Reznick was finished with the McMurtry novel.
His office was just one square room, with a door in back that led to a long corridor, which led to a restroom used by all the businesses on this side of the block. There was his desk, always a bit of a mess, with his computer and keyboard. Behind it, a low cupboard with a counter on top, and another cupboard above it. In the upper cupboard, he kept a few mugs, a few plates, glasses, bowls; in the lower cupboard, cleaning supplies, paper towels, and a small garbage can, with one drawer just below the counter in which he kept some utensils and cutlery. On the counter beneath the upper cupboards were a coffee maker – it was on now and the whole room smelled of coffee – a microwave, a small refrigerator, and a sink, with a roll of paper towels hanging over it. There were a couple metal filing cabinets, a small closet. He had two framed posters hanging on the walls – one of The Scream, the other of Starry Night.
It wasn’t much, but it was all he could afford at the moment. Anderson wasn’t the ideal location – Redding would have been better. But it was cheaper here, and right now, that was more important.
He’d eaten no breakfast – he hadn’t been hungry – but now his stomach purred and gurgled and let him know it was time to eat.
A new barbecue place had opened two doors down, just the other side of Bea’s Beauty Parlor. Barbecue sounded good, and he decided to give it a try. Normally, he brought his own lunch, but he didn’t feel like taking the time to make one that morning.
He didn’t bother locking the office. He turned right outside his door and moved through an area of vile odors emanating from the beauty parlor, into an invisible cloud made up of the tangy aroma of barbecue. Reznick tilted his head back a bit, breathed in deep through his nose, then out through his mouth. He looked at the words painted on the glass in front of the small take-out joint: UNCLE LEROY’S HOMEMADE BARBECUE.